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Fantastic Beasts... - I unfortunately haven't seen many movies this year, but this was one of them. It's Harry Potter by way of a Night at the Museum CGI-fest. There's very little in terms of plot for the first half and it's mainly Eddie Redmayne acting adorable until a child abuse story is shoe-horned in because fuck it, you can't spend two hours ooo'ing and aw'ing over fake creatures. It felt like a very lazy effort to turn Potter into an expanded universe and I'm sorely disappointed this wasn't just a Richard Attenborough doc on bug-eyed CGI.

Murdoch wrote:Fantastic Beasts... - I unfortunately haven't seen many movies this year, but this was one of them. It's Harry Potter by way of a Night at the Museum CGI-fest. There's very little in terms of plot for the first half and it's mainly Eddie Redmayne acting adorable until a child abuse story is shoe-horned in because fuck it, you can't spend two hours ooo'ing and aw'ing over fake creatures. It felt like a very lazy effort to turn Potter into an expanded universe and I'm sorely disappointed this wasn't just a Richard Attenborough doc on bug-eyed CGI.

I liked some things about it and disliked others. The expansion of the Potterverse mythology was quite cool in places, especially the look at the American side of the Wizarding World, the strain of social commentary was a nice bit of subtext, some the characters were quite likeable, some of the humor was nicely witty, the darker aspects of the story gave it a little edge, there was some neat visual effects and a cool sense of whimsy in some places, and Redmayne is a fairly interesting new lead. But the big action-packed finale felt like something that had wandered in from a Michael Bay film, too many plot thread were left dangling because they want a new franchise rather than because it was justified within the narrative, it's baggy in places and too long, and even by Potter standards, the final resolution was ridiculously deus ex machina. It was fun, and for better or worse, Yates has given the whole second half of the franchise a sense of continuity. Not a masterpiece, perhaps (My favorite of the HP films in spite of the hack job it makes of the novel is Cuaron's, the only one that genuinely feels visually striking and like I'm living in the world, an unpopular opinion among fans of the book.), but given how many fans were probably wanting to see more of the Potter universe, it was a nice new take that didn't feel like a cash-in rehash, even if some of the franchise-itis is unmistakable. Overall, it was enjoyable if slightly flawed.

I'm with Murdoch. The first half of this movie was an unyielding parade of poorly rendered CGI creatures, where the only saving grace is that there's not enough of a plot at this point to really have any plot holes. The second half is a complete mess: I challenge anybody to explain what Colin Farrell's character was trying to accomplish at any point in the film. The most laughably bad moment for me was the Scooby-doo ending, where

Spoiler

our heroes unmask the baddie, but instead of seeing the disgruntled bank owner or some other familiar face , we discover it was somebody we had never met all along.

I was surprised to see JK Rowling's name get a credit as a writer, because her stories are usually constructed with competence, but none of that is only display here- instead, we have a series of disjointed events that never come together in any meaningful way.

Oh, and I can't think of a recent blockbuster that had so little charisma split between it's two leads.

Surprised to learn that several screenings of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them are being shown in 70mm at the Arclight Hollywood. Hadn't heard anything about this in the news, but found out about it from Kodak's nifty new Reel Film app that lets you see where actual celluloid is being projected near you (even lets you search for movies shot on film but projected digitally)!

I took my parents to a screening of Fantastic Beasts and enjoyed it for the childhood nostalgia that it was. I don't think I can possibly give a fair review because Harry Potter was such a huge part of my childhood. But if you're down for magical escapism that doesn't require an obscene amount of thought this film will be perfect for you.

What a can malign is the atrocity that is the 3D format. The glasses were uncomfortable and it added nothing to the film. What a joke.

This is going to be a five film franchise, and David Yates is directing all of them

It was fine but maybe only marginally better than the weakest of the eight potter films, the plot seems extremely messy, but given the way that Rowling writes, I'd imagine that most of the creatures introduced are relevant to future stories. I'm surprised that particular villain was relegated to so little set up within the film, just a background mentions about the wider world, compared to the Voldemort set up in sorcerers stone it was not well developed.

Depp has been fired.

Career over? Possibly.

Nasir007 wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 4:29 pm Depp has been fired.

Career over? Possibly.

What is the judgment he is referring to? I have literally no idea what non-election news there is lately

domino harvey wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 4:31 pm

Nasir007 wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 4:29 pm Depp has been fired.

Career over? Possibly.

What is the judgment he is referring to? I have literally no idea what non-election news there is lately

His very lengthy and hugely expensive libel lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch's rag The Sun. I usually don't follow
celebrity-related news too much, but this thing was a pretty insane ride, with tales of excreting in beds and
other atrocious behavior.

Depp's career was pretty much over regardless of the judgment. The Professor went DTV, and it wouldn't
surprise me if Minamata, his upcoming film on a mercury poisoning coverup in Japan, has the same fate.

domino harvey wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 4:31 pm What is the judgment he is referring to? I have literally no idea what non-election news there is lately

He lost a libel case against The Sun over their claim about being a "wife-beater" (only put in quotes by me 'cause it was the phrase being sued over)

beamish14 wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 4:40 pm

domino harvey wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 4:31 pm

Nasir007 wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 4:29 pm Depp has been fired.

Career over? Possibly.

What is the judgment he is referring to? I have literally no idea what non-election news there is lately

His very lengthy and hugely expensive libel lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch's rag The Sun. I usually don't follow
celebrity-related news too much, but this thing was a pretty insane ride, with tales of excreting in beds and
other atrocious behavior.

Depp's career was pretty much over regardless of the judgment. The Professor went DTV, and it wouldn't
surprise me if Minamata, his upcoming film on a mercury poisoning coverup in Japan, has the same fate.

That was WILD.

If anyone wants to see a close-up of Amber Heard's feces on Johnny Depp's bed -

Spoiler

link.

I hate tabloids